Monday, March 2, 2009

Getting Ready to Invest

By Kay Riter

Have you gotten the stock bug? Are you itching to get into bonds or the derivative market? Do commodities sound like the place to be right now? Are you ready to jump into a mutual fund? Are you ready to start investing? Are you sure?

You won't be ready to start investing until you know what you are doing. You could lose a lot of hard-earned money by jumping into an investment you know nothing about. You could cause a lot of damage to your money situation. You need to do your research, read and learn about investing, and be very prepared before you invest one cent.

For example, if you want to start investing in bonds, learn everything you can about bonds first. What is a bond? How do you purchase them? How do you earn from them? Even learn about the investment you may have no intention of purchasing so that you know how they all affect each other.

The next step is to get the money to invest. You can invest without money. Money is the backbone of any investing plan. You also need to start with a pretty good amount. You won't get very far with a starting amount of $10. A broker will look at you like you're crazy if you walk up with ten dollars in your hand.

Come up with a budget to start saving money. The more you save the more you'll have to invest. Cut back wherever possible and save as much as you can.

Next, you need to find a place to invest. As much fun as it might sound, you as an ordinary person cannot go to the trading floor on Wall Street to place your trade. You have to find a brokerage firm to place the trades for you.

You can either invest with a large brokerage firm that offers professional service or you can use a discount broker such as an online firm. The larger brokerage firms will only accept you if you have a substantial amount of money to invest with, sometimes $2,000 or more. If you are starting smaller, you can sign up with a discount broker such as Sharebuilder.

Once you are ready and you feel prepared, you can start researching firms and choosing stocks. Make sure you don't place a trade unless you are completely sure you want stock in that company. Then, keep investing and keep managing your portfolio and watch your money grow.

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